


Winter Star

by JadeJinx



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Nerdiness, fluff?, possible anxiety?, slice of life?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2018-12-02 01:56:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11499348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeJinx/pseuds/JadeJinx
Summary: Crushed by the modern rat race, Jade feels herself spiraling into a rut. On the feast of the Winter Star she finds the letter left by her grandfather and in a bold move, decides that this is the change she needs. She moves to stardew valley where, hopefully, she can thrive.Based on my character and my way too real obsession with Seb and the other townspeople. She's kind of based on me, so I gave her my social awkwardness and exhaustion, since it makes sense goin hand in hand with granddad's letter.





	1. Starting Over

*Click*

The light flicked on as I walked through the door to my apartment, I sighed at the sight. It was so gross in here, I've been neglecting cleaning up and there were clothes on the floor, the table was cluttered with various books and games, and my collection of stuffed toys were all over the place. Like a cloud hanging over me the sight of my dirty apartment made me feel even more exhausted and I had to drag myself over to the bathroom and force myself to take a hot shower. It made me feel a little better, but not much. 

'I just want a nap.' I thought to myself, the feeling of the water running down my skin was nice and it cleared the cobwebs a bit, but not for long. The numbness started to set in so I switched off the water and got dried and dressed as quickly as I could. I looked over myself in the mirror, purple hair, tan skin, dark brown eyes, big bags of exhaustion under them, black nose ring on a button nose, I looked dead inside. I padded out of the bathroom and threw myself on my desk chair in front of my pc, switching it on. 

I hadn't eaten in hours, but I just couldn't bring myself to feel hungry or force food down my throat. I started up a game of Solarian Chronicles online, my level 87 healer greeted me with a confident smile and an eagerness for adventure. I queued up and played a few scenarios but I wasn't getting into it like I normally did. I turned off my pc and flopped onto the couch, switching on the Feast of the Winter Star holiday specials they usually had playing around this time. It was some sappy family movie about a young girl and her grandfather, it sent a pang through my heart. I hadn't thought about my Abuelito in forever, I'd been avoiding it since he'd died of cancer when I was younger. I still remember how my heart broke knowing my kind grandfather was gone, the agony of watching my mama cry in my dad's arms, my older brother trying to be strong for me as I wept on his shoulder. Then guilt wormed its way into my mind, he'd given me an envelope and made me promised to open it one day when I felt I needed it most. I wiped away tears and looked around my tiny apartment. If ever I needed whatever was in that envelope, I suppose it'd be now on a miserable and cold Feast of the Winter Star. 

I went to the back of my closet and rifled through the few boxes I'd never bothered to unpack, inside were old sketch and notebooks, various old family photos, some collectibles and merch that I didn't quite have enough room for, and, finally after an hour of searching, the letter with my grandfather's seal. 

'They say that if you make a wish today, the Winter Star would grant it to you're worthy... So... Winter Star... let this be the right decision please.' I opened the envelope and found a letter, a document, and a photo inside. The photo was of me, my brother Gabriel, and our grandfather on his farm in the valley when we were children. I placed aside the photo and read over the letter, unable to believe what had been sitting in my closet for so long. My abuelito Alvaro Santana had left me the deed to Esmeralda farm, I felt tears in my eyes again as memories of that beautiful place washed over me. The grass was the color of emeralds, the sky the color of sapphires, and the stars twinkled like diamonds in the night sky, my grandfather had called it the jewel of the valley and it had been his pride and joy. I stood, a new determination filling my heart. I was going to move to that farm and quit my job as a mindless drone at Joja. This was the change I'd been looking for and I would not let myself bitch out of it. I looked over the copy of the deed that had been in the envelope as I started to form a plan in my head.

 

-Final day of Winter-

 

The rumbling of the bus under me pulled me out of my thoughts and back into the present, I felt excitement welling up in me again. I'd quit my awful job, sold the lease on my apartment, and packed up everything and I'd be on the farm in a few short minutes. My family had expressed some concern over the move, the valley was a long way from their home and they'd made me promise to call often. If they weren't so busy with their own work they might have come with me, but honestly I felt like I needed to do this on my own. I tightened my grip on the few bags I'd brought with me when I saw the bus stop in the distance. I'd sent the rest of my belongings ahead of me and the Mayor had been kind enough to tell me when they'd arrived this morning. He said someone named Robin would be waiting for me at the stop and as we grew closer I saw a red haired woman waiting by the sign. 

"You must be Jade, I'm Robin. Mayor Lewis said you'd be coming today." She smiled and it reminded me of my mama, I tossed a grin back at her.

"Hi Robin, yeah, I'm Jade. Thanks so much for meeting me here, I don't really remember my way around here." She came over and helped me with my bags, shrugging it off when I tried to protest.

"It's not everyday we get a new face around here, it's so exciting. You've been the talk of the town ever since you called Mayor Lewis." She had a booming joyous voice, one that sounded like a warm fire on a cold day, inviting and comforting. I was uncomfortable at the thought of an entire town talking about me, I'm not exactly a social butterfly. She kept talking about the town and how much I would love it, even offering me a map and pointing to locations on it. It was nice, she talked and easily filled the silence, I could get away with the occasional nod or one word answer which suited me best. 

"You know you remind me of my son Sebastian, quiet and off in your own world up there aren't you?" She poked my forehead lightly, she was a fair bit taller than me so I craned my neck to look up at her, I'm only 5'2 and she was at least a good half foot taller than me. 

I mumbled some vague agreement and she just chuckled and kept talking good naturedly, but I started to get lost in my thoughts. Robin meant well, I'm sure of that, but she had a point about how quiet I could be, I was habitually a reclusive person but it was normal in the city. No one knew anyone and everyone was always busy, but here things would be different. In this kind of small town everyone knows everyone and no one is exempt. I decided I would do my best to fit in here, even if people were exhausting, I'd never be able to make any sort of progress by being a hermit. It's not like I had to be around people 24/7 either, I had a farm I could tend to and I had a green thumb and a love for growing so that would take a good chunk of the day, and I would mostly only be in town running errands so I could at least try to be pleasant when I was in town and people would simply excuse me for being a busy farmer. Robin had mentioned a saloon, that might not be bad to visit once in a while, she said it had good food and some arcade games. It couldn't be all that bad to go. I nodded to myself, I could do this and I would.

"de..Jade..JADE" I heard Robin calling my name and flushed in embarrassment at having spaced out again. 

"Sorry, what? I was thinking."

She chuckled, "I said welcome to your new home" She gestured to the completely over grown, debris filled field that had once been my Abuelito's farm. I felt my Jaw drop at the sight of the mess, it would take days, no weeks to clean this all up! I groaned and buried my face in my hands in frustration, I was royally boned and I could already feel the exhaustion creeping into my bones.

"I know it's a little over run," I scoffed at her understatement, "But with a little work, you'll have it cleared and ready for planting in no time." 

"I can feel the callouses forming already." I quipped, work gloves had been a wise investment after all and I made a mental note to thank my mother's insistence upon them when I called her. Robin chuckled at my side and I heard the door behind me creak open.

"Ahh Jade! It's good to see you again!" Mayor Lewis's voice called out to me and I turned to him, "I don't know if you remember me but your grandfather Alvaro and I were great friends, thick as thieves he and I!" 

"I think I remember you... yeah... you used to come and have a beer with my Abue and you'd give Gabriel and I some sweets or a soda pop. Sometimes the other townspeople would send things along with you, like cookies or something." It started to come back to me, he'd had brown hair then and less wrinkles, but Mayor Lewis's mustache was the same as ever.

"That's right dear, I'm glad you remember! Well, anyway, this is your grandpa's old cottage. We fixed it up for you, it's rather.. rustic" 

"That's one way of putting it... Crusty might be more apt, though." Robin chuckled. 

"How rude! Don't listen to her, she just wants to talk you into buying one of her house upgrades!"

"Hey! I am not!" Robin looked miffed, but it was mostly in jest. She smiled and looked over at me, "You should go ahead and get settled in sweety, I know unpacking can be a pain."

"Quite right, but before we take our leave," Mayor Lewis walked over to a small bin, a rune of preservation was etched onto the bottom of it, "If you ever have anything you want to sell at the end of the day, just leave it here and I'll come by and collect it during the night. No need to worry about things spoiling in here."

"Right, because of the rune."

"Yes, you've got a sharp eye Jade! Well anyway, just drop it here and I'll come get it and leave the profit in your mailbox. I suggest you also spend some time introducing yourself to the townsfolk tomorrow too, I know they're all very excited to meet you." I felt my shoulders droop a bit at the thought but I put on a smile and agreed. 

Robin and Mayor Lewis left soon after that and I set about unpacking my stuff. I didn't want to, but I also didn't want to live out of my suitcase until I felt up to it. The cottage was smaller than it used to be, it must have taken some kind of damage. Now there was only a main room with a bed in it and a small bathroom off the side of it. There was a table with a small portable stove on it, a chair, and an old clunky tv that I remember playing the NES on with Gabe. I took a quick walk around the property after putting my clothes into the small armoire I had and saw the foundation for the cottage as it had been in my childhood, mercifully it would be easy enough to build it back to it's original size, although it would take some time and money, of which I had very little. 

I made some coffee and started sorting through the boxes and boxes of books, comics, and magazines I'd brought with me, I didn't have any space for them and I felt frustration and irritation knotting up my muscles. I shoved the boxes into the corner in a somewhat organized fashion before going through some other boxes. I found the backpack my mother had bought me, it was small and couldn't hold too much but it had cost a pretty penny for the runes on it. It would preserve the items inside, in case I needed to take perishables somewhere, and it could carry more than it's size suggested because of the increased capacity rune stitched onto it. I put the scythe, watering can, hoe, pickaxe, and axe that Mayor Lewis had given to me as a gift inside and thanks to the rune it looked almost completely empty. I stretched and looked over at the small alarm clock I'd set up earlier, it was only 11 but I had to be up at 6 am and I needed to tame my night owl tendencies. No more staying up until the early hours of the morning and sleeping in well past noon. I laid down and eventually tossed and turned my way to sleep.

 

Spring 1, Year 1.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP* 

The obnoxious sound of my alarm startled me out of my sleep, with a huff I slapped it into silence. I checked my phone as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, a text from Gabriel, a few from mom and dad, and fifteen from my friend Maya. She and I had been friends since high school, and she'd moved across the country for college and then work. She was a graphic designer for a video game company and when I'd told her about the move she was over the moon that I was doing something to break my down spin. I sent a few quick responses before getting up to start the day. I hesitated in front of the TV but switched it on after a moment, I flipped through the channels and saw the weather, some tips for country living, and a fortune teller? I hadn't thought about the fact that small towns wouldn't have dedicated seer shops, so this was a nice alternative. The seer gave the general mood of the spirits in the valley and I made a mental note of it before moving on.

I was dog tired already as I stepped out onto the field, parsnip seeds (courtesy of Mayor Lewis) in hand. I felt my entire body sag at the daunting task before me and briefly contemplated simply going back to bed before reminding myself of my resolve. I set off hacking away at weeds and rocks and logs and errant trees that grew before me. 

A few hours later I flopped onto my porch drenched in sweat and covered in dirt. I was sticky and grimy and exhausted, but I'd cleared a decent swath of land and planted and watered my precious parsnips. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, it was only 11 am. I groaned and pushed myself up and into the house, and a quick shower later I was wearing a Zelda t-shirt, some jeans, and a pair of chucks. I opened my wallet, 500g, I needed groceries and some more seeds if I wanted to have any sort of sensible profit, and food. I popped in my earbuds and headed into town, practicing my introduction in my head. 'Hi, I'm the new farmer, Jade.' Hmmm, too presumptuous, sure Robin said they'd all been talking about her, but it would be rude to act like that. 'Hi, I just moved in to town, I'm a farmer, my name is Jade.' That sounded almost robotic. This was hard and as I got closer to the town square I could feel anxiety clawing it's way up my soul. I pushed down the almost nausea inducing feeling and found myself across the way from what appeared to be a clinic and a general store. I went over and read the bulletin board on the side of the general store, it had everyone's birthdays on it as well as festival days.

'That's nice that they put everyone's birthdays on here, oh wow, it's Mayor Lewis's birthday on the 7th.' I made a mental note to get him something for his birthday, though what I wasn't quite sure yet. I ducked into the store and heard a twinkling bell announce my presence. It was mostly empty but the few people who were here all looked up at me and stared for a bit.

"Oh um h-hi! I'm uhh I'm Jade, I just moved into my grandfather Alvaro's farm and umm it's nice to meet you?" I jumbled my way through a greeting and everyone came over with a smile and introduced themselves one by one, first was Jodi a sweet brunette woman with her hair in a braid, then there was Caroline with green hair who was apparently married to Pierre who stood behind the counter and owned the store, then there was Pierre himself who waved and introduced himself as I made my way over to the counter. He smiled and helped me pick up a variety of crops, cauliflower, potatoes, green beans, and even a little Kale. I managed to snag some basic groceries too, enough to last me until my first harvest at least. I was glad I'd thought to leave behind my tools in order to have room for everything. 

I left the store and bumped into a few more people on my way home, I met the Doctor, Harvey, who seemed nice enough, I also met a sweet old lady named Evelynn who insisted I call her granny. Apparently she was the one who would send cookies to us with Mayor Lewis, my Abuelo had been friends with her and her husband, George. I met a girl named Haley who looked very pretty and sweet, but she seemed kind of shallow and reminded me too much of an ex girlfriend. 

I finally got home and, after a quick lunch, planted and watered all my new crops. Pleased with my work and finding myself with a lot of daylight left but not a whole lot of energy, I went for a walk in the Cindersnap Forest south of the farm. I remembered my grandfather taking us there and showing us where to find lots of yummy wild food. I met Leah while I was there, she was an artist from Zuzu City and was really friendly. I found some wild onions, some horseradishes, a few daffodils, and some dandelions. Daffodils make a great salad, and dandelions are just pretty so I thought I'd put them in a nice vase to brighten my small living quarters. 

I walked along the edge of the lake and saw a tower closer than I'd realized I'd wandered to. I walked past it, not wanting to bother whoever lived there, and found a good deal of leeks near it. I picked a few before I realized that perhaps it would anger whoever lived in the tower and hurried home. 

"I..2..3..Oh no I messed up again!" A small voice huffed and a young girl was skipping rope near a tree that sat beside the little foot path back to my farm. 

"Oh hello." She looked nervous but politely greeted me, I said hello and gave her a smile before heading back up the path. 

I finally got back and the toll of the day started to wear on me, especially having met so many new people, I set up a chest and carved a rune of preservation on the bottom before dumping my goods into it. I figured I would keep most of what I found but sold a few of the things I had extra of. I placed my tools and wood, stone, and fiber in there too. My grandfather had always told me that the land gave what you needed, and that everything could be used somehow. 

I dragged myself over to my bed and sat heavily on it before pulling out my laptop. I didn't have the room to set up my PC but I could still play some games on the laptop. It booted up and then in frustration it informed me that I had no internet. I'd forgotten about that, Robin had mentioned something about it hadn't she? She might know how to get it set up here, since the company had informed me that I had to take it up with Pelican Town to get it set up. I made note to go see her tomorrow after watering my crops, and pulled out my map. Her shop opened at 9 and it was a ways up the mountain. I could get there through town, but that was a longer route and meant far far more people, luckily there was a small path leading up to the mountains just north of my farm. 

I popped in a dvd and passed out watching Monty Python. 

 

Spring 2 

*Beep Beep Beep* 

I bitch slapped my alarm into silence and sat up groggily. After a quick breakfast and watering my crops I hopped into the shower and got dressed to run over to Robin's, I wore a Kingdom Hearts t shirt, some dark jeans, a thin black hoodie, popped in my earbuds, and was out the door by 8:30. 

I made my way up the path and found some more wild horseradishes and leeks, it was lovely and peaceful. The music blaring through my earphones made time fly by and I hadn't even realized I was at Robin's door until I almost smacked into it face first. Pausing my music, I pulled upon the door and called out to Robin.

"In here sweety!" She called, loudly. 

I walked inside and she was beaming at me from behind the counter, "What can I do for you hun?" Even though I was inside now, her voice was still quite loud and it carried through the house. I heard footsteps and turned to face them.

"Hi! You must be Jade, I'm Maru! It's so nice to meet you." Maru introduced herself and shook my hand, she was friendly and seemed sweet. A man walked up beside her and shook my hand as well.

"Hello, I'm Demetrius, local father and scientist." 

"Hey, I'm Jade. I just moved in." 

"Yes, we heard. Robin told us all about you."

"Oh.. umm cool." I simply grinned, unsure of what to say. Thankfully Maru and Demetrius had to return to their work and bid me farewell.

"So, what's up sweety?" Robin asked again when we were alone again.

"Oh yeah, do you happen to know how I can get internet? I thought you said something about it the other day but I don't remember... " I trailed off, hoping it didn't sound rude that I hadn't been fully paying attention at the time.

"Oh that? My son Sebastian can help you with that. I'll call him up, SEBBY!!" She bellowed and I winced a bit at the volume, she merely smiled back at me and mouthed 'one sec'

I heard a door slam and then stomping and turned to face the set of stairs that the noise was coming from. 

"Yeah, mom?" He had a scowl on his face, black hair covering part of his face. Shit, he was cute as hell. He wore a dark hoodie and black pants, he had some black plugs too, and he loomed over me, a good foot taller than me at least. 

"Sebby, would you mind setting up the internet for Jade?"

"I would."

She raised an eyebrow and gave him a look that made me want to apologize for him, he sighed and turned to walk back down the stairs.

"Give me a few minutes to grab my stuff." He grumbled over his shoulder.

I wasn't sure whether to be grateful for the internet or sorry for interrupting whatever he was doing.

He came back up the stairs with a small duffel bag and jerked his head over his shoulder in a "follow" motion. 

"See ya later mom"

"Bye Sebby, be nice to Jade! Bye Jade, I'll see ya around. Don't forget to swing by if you need anything else."

I waved goodbye and ran out the door that Sebastian had left through already. I had to jog to catch up to him and then speed walk to try to keep pace with his longer gait. He seemed to notice after a moment and slowed down, mumbling something that sounded like an apology. 

Silence took over, save for the crunching of dirt under our shoes, and I felt that it would be rude to put my earphones on so the walk back seemed far longer than the walk to Robin's. I didn't know if I should speak up and say something, or just let the silence persist. What if he was already grumpy and me chattering would just bother him? Or what if he thought the silence was weird and that I was rude for not saying anything. 

"So, of all the places you could have moved to. You picked Pelican town?" His voice broke my reverie, it was deep and bassy with a wonderful smooth timbre. 

"Oh umm I inherited the farm from my Grandpa so.. yeah.." I almost kicked myself, great going dork, you sound uncomfortable and dumb. 

"Oh." 

Great, now he thinks you're weird or something. I squared my shoulders and reminded myself to be more pleasant.

"Have you lived here long? I remember Robin said something about moving." That was good, very nice.

"Something like that." His voice sounded tight and clipped, crap I said something dumb, but it had seemed fine? What could I have said?

The rest of the walk passed in a tense silence, I was grateful to see the farm by the time we got there. We went inside and Sebastian set to work quickly while I stood there like a lump.

"Umm, would you like a cup of coffee or some water or something?" I offered awkwardly. I wanted some coffee myself and figured it would be polite to at least offer.

"Coffee would be nice." He responded quietly, focused on the task at hand. I set the kettle on the little stove and pulled out the map again. Robin had scribbled some prices and stuff on the back for upgrades and some farm buildings. The first one would rebuild the kitchen and master bedroom, but it cost 10,000g and she needed to 450 wood. I started doing some calculations and figured it would be best to start saving up for the upgrade. The faster I got it, the better. Currently the cottage was a bit smaller than my apartment, but once the upgrade happened it would be a bigger by a decent chunk.

The kettle whistled and I folded up the map and put it aside. I fixed two mugs of coffee and handed one to Sebastian and pulled off my hoodie, hanging up in the armoire. 

"Is that a Kingdom Hearts shirt?" He sounded surprised and I hadn't expected his voice in the small space, he'd been mostly silent since we'd come inside. 

"Yeah, have you played it?" That was dumb, of course he's played it if he's bringing it up dummy.

"It's one of my favorites from when I was younger."

"It's one of mine too" I smiled, at least we had something in common. He smirked and I felt my cheeks start to burn, why did he have to be so damn hot? I sipped my coffee and leaned against the table as he finished up.

"I'm guessing you need the internet for the games then?"

"Oh haha yeah, I was really ticked yesterday when I realized I couldn't play."

"Yeah, most people don't get internet this fast unless they need it for something, usually facebook, but games are a much better reason."

"Really? I know this is a small town but I didn't think that it was small enough that the internet was basically unnecessary."

"Mhmm, people closer to our age like it, but it's not a priority most of the time. It's almost like this town is stuck in the 50's" His lips quirked up at the corner and I chuckled softly, I'd thought something similar yesterday when I saw how some of the villagers dressed and spoke. 

"Alright, you're all set up." He called after a few more moments. He set the empty cup on the table and stood up, duffle bag over his shoulder. The room was so small he was a lot closer than I'd realized, and he seemed too big and too close all of a sudden. 

"Oh um thanks Sebastian." I bit the inside of my cheek, unsure what to say. 

"No problem, I should get going though." He moved towards the door and I felt my the tension in my shoulders start to relax.

"Right, well, have a safe walk home." 

He waved without turning around and shut the door behind him as he left. I exhaled loudly in the now empty space and checked the time on my phone, 5:00pm. That had taken longer than I'd expected. At least all my farming duties were done. With the left over hot water I made some cup ramen and watched some youtube. I logged on to the Solarian Chronicles Online after eating and queued up for some scenarios. A chat notification popped up from Maya and another from my buddy Jonah, they were logged off by now but I responded to them before hopping into a randomly generated scenario.

My Healer, Faeryn, was paired with a Wizard, Sebellus, and a Warrior, Samsonite, to save a village from a gang of bandits.

\- Jinxd (Faeryn): Hey  
\- ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Yo  
\- SkaterG0d (Samsonite): Hey :D  
\- ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Is that a mantle of mana? :o  
\- Jinxd (Faeryn): Lol, yeah XD I did a raid boss battle with some friends and the boss dropped it.  
\- Jinxd (Faeryn): You pb&jelly?  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): pb&jelly?? lol you dork. Yeah I want one tho, what raid did you do?  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): 'm not a doork >.< but I got it from the Wizard of black rock one. It seems to have a slightly higher drop rate but I'm not sure.  
-SkaterG0d (Samsonite): Yo dorks, bandits ahoy.

We fell into the scenario, chat momentarily forgotten. Sebellus was squishy so I stuck on him, running over to Samsonite when he dipped below half health. Which wasn't often giving how quickly we were destroying the bandits. I even got to toss a couple damage spells in between healing my teammates. 

-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): That first wave was surprisingly easy.  
-SkaterG0d (Samsonite): Yeah, one more to go.

The second wave was tougher, Samsonite dipped below half health more often and Sebellus was almost getting two shot by some of the stronger bandits. I'd saved most of my AOE heals for the second wave so I was able to stick to the wizard and keep the Warrior's health topped up without too much trouble.

After the Scenario we honored each other for being great teammates and queued up together for another scenario. We ended up playing another 3 before I went to bed. We added each other and made plans to go beat the Wizard of Black Rock raid in a few days when we'd be able to play for a good long while.


	2. A long 5th of Spring

Beep Beep Beep 

I was starting to fall into a comfortable routine after a few days, I’d met everyone in town, was friendly enough with most of them, and I was pretty excited today, my first crop would be ready to harvest. I’d grown them with my own two hands and I was damn proud of myself. I watered my crops and picked the ones ready for harvest, I could sell them to Pierre and then pick up some more seeds and groceries. 

I got a letter from Joja, apparently the mines were open to the public again, which was good. Clint had told me I could upgrade my tools if I got some ore so I’d have to at least check them out today. 

I placed the parsnips in my backpack, and set off toward town, earphones blaring in my ears. I found some forageable goods along the way and greeted Harvey as he walked into his clinic. I saw Granny Evelynn watering some flowers and stopped to give her a hand, waved back at Alex when he greeted me, chatted a bit with Abigail, she asked me if I had anything planned today and when I’d mentioned the mines she told me there were monsters inside and how cool it would be to explore the mines and fight the monsters. I joked that that sounded like some kind of quest you’d get in a video game. She laughed and told me she had a gaming console if I ever wanted to come over and play with her. She was cute and into games, Yoba help me I never thought I’d meet so many interesting people in such a tiny town.

I paid for my things and went up along the mountain path toward Robin’s shop and the mines, I stumbled onto an area I hadn’t seen before. There was a lovely fountain off in the distance and Mayor Lewis was standing in front of a decrepit building, I walked over and he seemed surprised to find me at his side. He explained that this used to be the community center and it had once been the pride and joy of the town. It slowly died after granddad’s passing, no one was quite sure why but it seemed as though it simply fell into disrepair without anyone there to care for it. My grandfather would come in once or twice a week and tend to the garden and any little odds and ends that it needed. The mayor looked out of sorts, I can’t imagine it was nice to see all the work his old friend had done gone to waste, I decided then and there that I would restore the community center someday for my Abuelito’s sake. He would rest easier knowing someone cared for the town as he had in life. 

Mayor Lewis let me inside and it was even worse inside than it had looked outside.

“I know some of the older kids sneak in here to hang out sometimes, I hadn’t imagined it was this bad.” The mayor grumbled but I looked over at the small hut thing in the corner. I was fairly certain no teenager would have built that; it was too small for anything bigger than a medium sized dog. As we talked I caught some kind of motion in my peripheral, but when I turned my head to look at it, it was gone.

“Something wrong, Jade?” 

“I thought I saw… I guess not.” I turned to look at the Mayor again when another flash of movement caught my eye again, “There! I saw something move, I’m sure of it.” The flashes were quick, but there was nothing there when I tried to look at them dead on.

“Perhaps there are rats in the building.”

“Maybe, but I don’t hear scurrying.” Rats were a possibility, but I wasn’t so sure.

Another flash, directly behind the mayor, but this time I whipped my head toward it and saw it clear as day. I felt my jaw drop at the sight, it looked like a little green ball with tiny arms and legs and a cute face. “There! Look!” 

Mayor Lewis turned, but didn’t see anything. He looked at me funny, possibly contemplating throwing me into bedlam before sighing.

“Did you get enough sleep? You’re starting to worry me.” My face must have conveyed my displeasure, because he patted my shoulder and started to leave. “I’ll leave the center open from now on, okay? Maybe you can catch that rat or fix this place up a little.” 

I heard a noise down the hall and simply nodded, already walking toward the source of the sound. Recalling every horror movie I’d ever watched and every horror game I’d ever played, I pulled out my axe and kicked open the door aggressively, ready to axe a bitch and run. The room was empty and I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed. There was a weird tablet in the center of the room and I felt oddly drawn to it. I knelt before it and tried to read it, but it was nothing but jibberish. I stared at it from every angle I could, tried to find some kind of discernable code, but nothing. I huffed and checked my phone, 2pm, I should get out of here. I still needed to go check out the mines and then I figured it would be nice to visit Robin really quick, plus I could talk to her about the process of rebuilding the kitchen and master bedroom.

I made my way up along the side of the lake, greeted Linus who was fishing by the river, and got to the entrance of the mines. I stepped inside and was surprised to find that I was not alone in the cave. An older gentleman wearing an eye patch looked up, surprised to see me. He introduced himself as Marlon, the head of the adventurer’s guild and explained that he thought there might be monsters in the mines. He was really nice and gave me an old sword to protect myself with. I chose not to mention that it looked old and rusted, not nearly as pristine as the replicas I’d had hanging on my walls. Then again, those were replicas, and this was a real sword. It was probably beat up because it had been used heavily. I thanked him and decided I should definitely come back on a day when I had more time. I left the mines, now acquainted with their location, and meandered over to Robin’s.

I opened the door to Robin’s shop and saw the counter empty, confused I walked inside toward the kitchen thinking perhaps Robin was on her lunch break. I smacked nose first into a wall, or rather what I thought was a wall. 

“owwww” I rubbed my nose and looked up surprised when the wall grunted in response.

“Where did you even come from?” Sebastian grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Sorry, I was looking for Robin and I guess I didn’t watch where I was going.” I backed up in the small space, a little nervous. 

“I’ll go get mom, I was gonna grab some coffee anyway. Want a cup?” 

“Oh um, yes please. Thank you.” I stood near the counter and watched him pad toward the kitchen.

I heard Robin well before I saw her, she came bounding through the house and chatted with me at a volume that filled the house with her warm voice. We got to talking about the house upgrade and I heard the clink of a cup at my side. Sebastion had put down the coffee cup and already began making his way down the stairs when Robin called to him.

“Sebby, aren’t you going to say bye to Jade dear?” Her tone suggested it was less a question and more a command. I could almost hear him deflate a little as he turned and waved. I waved back and was reminded slightly of a cat slinking off to his favorite spot as I watched him descend.

After a few more minutes explaining the process to me, I had a better understanding of what I would need and how to go about getting my house fixed up. I left, bidding Robin a fond farewell; I was supposed to do the Black Rock raid with Sebellus and Samsonite today so I hurried back. 

Finally back on my farm, I flopped onto bed tiredly. It had been a busier day than I’d initially bargained for. 

I switched on my laptop and logged onto SCL, I’d played with Sebellus and Samsonite basically every night since getting internet and we were getting to be great friends. I heard the chat ping and saw that Sebellus had messaged me basically the instant I was on.

-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Hey, you’re finally on.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Aww bby did you miss me ;)   
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Pfft you wish, now hurry up and accept the raid woman! I want my damn mana mantle!  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): So mean :( how could you do dis 2 me bby  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): awww don’t be sad.   
-Jinxd (Faeryn): You hurt me, you hurt me real bad * dramatic pose *  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): yeah yeah yeah, drama queen.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): I’m not the only Queen honey, I seen how look at Samsonite, siiiize queen.  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): You know it, I love that dumb meathead. Not.

I chuckled, and the queue finally popped so we switched over to team chat. Raids were usually 5-10 people so there were a couple randos queued up with us.

-Jinxd (Faeryn): Samsonite, control your mans.  
-SkaterG0d (Samsonite): huh???? SEBELLUS WHAT DID YOU DO NOW??  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): I’m not your mans.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): That’s cold :(   
-SkaterG0d (Samsonite): WHY DO YOU DENY OUR LOOOOOOVE  
-DigBickDPS (Illidamn): Are.. are you guys okay???  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): They’re in a lover’s quarrel!! Oh what tragedy doth keep our fair star crossed lovers apart! Tis class mayhaps, the warrior may not lay with the wizard, but soft. If they admit their love and renounce their class, our fair city may yet find peace.  
-SkaterG0d (Samsonite): Sure let’s go with that.  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): I hate you two -.-  
-BunniBoots (Maltheal): Castle up ahead.

Other than the odd joke at the Wizard’s expense by myself or by Samsonite, the chat was quiet. We ended up running through the raid twice before Sebellus got the Mana Mantle. 

-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): I HAVE THE POWER!!!!  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Calm down he-man  
-SkaterG0d (Samsonite): I thought I was he-man T^T  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): You right boo, my b. He’s more like Skeletor anyway.  
-SkaterG0d (Samsonite): loooooool you have no idea how accurate that is  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): I beg to differ, I’m more competent than Skeletor.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Sure Sebellus, whateeeever you say.  
-SkateG0d (Samsonite): Wait who are you then Faeryn?  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Duuuuhhhh I’m clearly either the sorceress or Evil-lyn.   
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): You’re too evil to be the sorceress so def Evil-lyn  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): So we’re teaming up to kick Samsonite’s ass?  
-ObsidinVoid (Sebellus): Hell yea  
-SkaterG0d (Samsonite): Wait what no!

We ran through some easy scenarios for a bit and I headed off to bed dog tired. Today had been a busy day, but it was great. I was tired sure, but it wasn’t the exhausted numbness I felt back in the city.


	3. Magicks of the Forest

I woke up the next day before my alarm went off; it was scary how quickly I was getting used to waking up at the ass crack of dawn. I put on a kettle to make coffee and flipped through the channels, the weather channel reported that it would be sunny tomorrow, some cooking show was making hash browns and I scribbled down the recipe quickly before changing to the fortuneteller. The seer sat at her crystal ball and spoke; 

“Ahh I sense a young lady tuning in from… Pelican Town?” She was good; a seer with that kind of power usually had a private practice. 

“The spirits are on your side today, they will guide you and keep you safe, take risks and opportunities today.” I switched off the TV after finishing my breakfast and coffee, changed into a faded Rob Zombie tour shirt and some old jeans before heading out the door. 

I checked the mailbox and found a small letter tucked into the side just behind the small bundle of coins from Mayor Lewis. Upon closer inspection it was more akin to a small scroll, complete with a purple ribbon to secure it closed, it read:

“My sources tell me you’ve been poking around inside the old community center.  
Why don’t you pay me a visit?  
My chambers are west of the forest lake, in the stone tower. I may have information concerning your… ‘rat problem’.  
\-- M. Rasmodius, Wizard.”

A wizard? Out here? That was unusual. Most wizards worked for the Ministry of Magick making enchantments for weapons for the war against the Gotoro Empire. There’d been a summons some time back requiring anyone who had studied the arcane to ‘do their part’ in the war, there were even rumors that some wizards had turned themselves into monsters to fight for the Ferngill Republic. Horrible creatures who could not remember that they were once humans… No one really knew if it was true or not, those dark practices had been outlawed when the Republic was formed. 

I finished up my morning chores lost in my thoughts and made my way down toward the Cindersnap Forest where the Wizard’s tower lay. 

The cobblestone stairs leading up to his door were worn and looked ancient, though the tower itself looked more recently built. I knocked on the door and after a few moments it opened of it’s own accord. 

Stepping inside the Wizard made another absent-minded motion at the door and closed it behind me. He waved me in as he finished stirring a brew in his cauldron.

“Ahh young Jade,” He launched into a long-winded introduction that I absolutely tuned out for, “Keeper of the sacred cha-… you get the point.” I stifled a chuckle.

“I’d like to show you something,” He turned toward the summoning circle on the floor, “behold!” One of the green puffballs with a face and limbs appeared inside the runes, it made little distressed noises and my heart broke a little hearing them. 

“You’ve seen one before haven’t you?” I nodded silently, “They call themselves the ‘Junimos’… mysterious spirits, these ones… for some reason they refuse to speak with me.” I bit my tongue, ‘maybe because you appear to be hurting them’ the quip wanted to surface but I forced myself to stay silent and observe. 

He banished the Junimo and explained that I had no reason to fear them for they were benevolent spirits. 

I told him about the strange scroll on a wooden tablet in the community center and the small hut they had made in the community center. 

He held up a hand and told me to wait here, he muttered an incantation and disappeared in a flash of arcane. He returned through the door a few moments later, a pensive look on his face. 

“I found the note, the language was obscure but I was able to decipher it.” He pulled out a small notebook and read from it; “We, the Junimo, are happy to aid you. In return we ask for gifts of the valley. If you are one with the forest then you will see the true nature of this scroll.” 

He made his way back over to the cauldron and stared into it, “What could they mean… one with the forest?” He sniffed and a look of realization came over him. “Come here!” I walked over to the cauldron and peered inside, it looked disgusting and smelled like mulch. “My cauldron is bubbling with ingredients from the forest! Baby Fern, moss grub, caramel-top toadstool… can you smell it?” How could I not was a more appropriate question.

“Here, drink up. Let the essence of the forest permeate your body.” I hesitated; the brew smelled disgusting, I knew next to nothing about this person wizard or not, and for all I knew he could be trying to poison me to sacrifice me to some blood thirsty Gods pretending to be cute green puffballs! However… the seer’s words gently broke through my fears and whispered in my ear to take this chance. I accepted the cup from the wizard’s hands and drank it in one deep draught. 

I felt my lungs collapsing and my throat constricting, my body seizing as I struggled to breath. My vision started to fade and everything began to go black, and then… green? Strange wavering visions of the forest began to fill my mind and I felt a tingle up my spine and then down into my fingertips. 

I gasped and jolted up from where I’d collapsed on the ground, the wizard looked completely unconcerned. I felt anger bubbling in my stomach and I balled my fist, I stood and jabbed my finger at him, ready to yell at him, a small arc of green arcane magic left my finger and the wizard deflected it. A smile grew on his face and I stared at my finger in confusion.

“I was right! The Junimo are wise indeed.” He spoke with pure glee.

“What the hell are you on about you crazy old man!?” I like to think of myself as a reasonable person, slow to anger and quick to forgive, but I was livid and something was different, I felt strong and powerful but also slightly unhinged like it was hard to control myself. My body was almost vibrating with energy.

“I figured the Junimo showed themselves to you for a reason, and I told you, I’d long forseen your arrival. That potion you drank was imbued with the most potent ingredients from the forest, the ones with the highest amount of natural arcane power. A normal human would have been passed out for days, possibly even weeks, their bodies are unable to process such magicks. You awoke almost instantly and you were even able to direct some of the arcane power, albeit unconsciously. My girl you don’t seem to understand, you were born with arcane powers! Your powers were weak and dormant, it seems your strengths lay toward nature magicks and thus living in the city weakened you. My potion returned some of your strength and with some time and practice you could even harness your magick, small though it might be.”

“I… I have arcane powers…” 

“Yes, not a great deal of them mind you, never enough to be classified as a sorceress or a witch or even a great druid, but a witch doctor or a minor druid possibly.” 

“Wait… You! You took a gamble on my life just now!”

“It’s not a gamble if you’re sure you’re right. Now be gone, you have a scroll to decipher.”

In a huff I sent another spark of magick at the wizard, he deflected it and chuckled. I rolled my eyes and began making my way toward the door. I hesitated with my hand on the knob,  
“Would… Would you teach me? To use my powers, I mean.”

“Prove yourself worthy to the Junimo and I would be honored to take you on as a pupil young adept. You show great promise, even with such small amount of natural talent.”

I took the backhanded compliment and left deep in thought. I stopped before a tree and extended my hand to it, I willed some arcane power toward the tree and where the small green light touched the leaves grew a little brighter and more vibrant. I tried again, focusing intently on a small-unopened flower bud and willed it to blossom. It took minutes, but those minutes felt like hours and I was exhausted by the time the petals bloomed, but I had done it. I stared at my fingers in wonder, as a child Arcane users had fascinated me, they were the ones that got to have amazing adventures and see the world as no one else could. A nervous laugh bubbled up out of my throat and I had to hold myself still by sheer will. I wanted to scream and whoop and jump for joy. I had magick! I had Magick! 

I heard a twig snap and looked up to see Leah making her way along the river, taking a walk in the morning as she would normally. I shoved my hands into my jean pockets and started walking towards town, I greeted Leah and we chatted for a moment. 

Walking through town felt surreal and strange, I could still feel the tingle of magick in my body and it was weird. The vibrating had calmed some after using the magick but it was still present. It was more manageable though, a background noise rather than an all-consuming cacophony. I stopped to help Granny Evelyn water some flowers and they seemed to follow me with their little heads. I lightly ran my finger along a petal and it became just a little more lively under my touch. Amazing. 

I finally made my way inside of the community center, the junimo didn’t run away this time. They almost seemed to welcome me and guide me back to the scroll. 

I picked up the tablet with the parchment tacked onto it, the symbols blurred and then fell into place and I could understand them. The first section asked for the wild goods of the valley in the spring, the horseradish, the leek, the dandelion, and the daffodil. Each subsequent section asked for the wild goods that grew in the other seasons and then lumber and stone and then the wild goods from the desert. The way it was worded sounded like some incantation.

“We ask for the fruits of the natural valley, that have sustained life here for generations

We ask for the wood and stone of the valley, that you use to make shelters

We ask for the fruits of the desert, that are foreign to the valley but dear to nature.”

“Right well, I’ll do my best little guys.” I felt one of the Junimo press against my leg and I pet its head, they loved the valley as my grandfather had and I would prove myself to them. 

I stood up and headed toward my farm, I had a few of each of the forageables the Junimos were asking for, so I would go and grab those quickly and come back. 

I returned an hour later, goods in tow, and came to the room where I’d found the scroll. The little Junimo from before pulled out a small cloth, I wrapped the items in the cloth and the Junimo carried it away speaking in its language. It wasn’t the same as reading, it was hard to understand, but the notion of a thank you formed in my head. The Junimo returned after a moment carrying a smaller bundle. It presented the little cloth wrapped item to me.

“A... present?” It chirped affirmatively.

I opened it gingerly and found a bag of wild seeds inside, I placed the bag off to the side and picked up the Junimo giving it a soft hug.

“Thank you for this, so much.” These seeds would be a big help, there weren’t many but every little bit was a step closer to my goals.

I stood up tucking the seeds into my backpack ready to leave when I noticed another Junimo across the hall, beckoning me. I followed it and found another similar scroll, this one asked for crops from each season, gifts from domestic animals, and refined goods.

“We ask for the fruits of your labor, born of the Valley.

We ask for gifts of the animals, loved and cared for by you

We ask for goods refined by hand, crafted with love and dedication”

I scribbled down the list of crops the Junimos requested, it would at the very least help guide me in what to buy and plant. 

I patted the Junimo’s head and made my way to the main room. Another Junimo stood by an old broken down fish tank, beckoning me over.

I found the scroll quickly, it asked for fish from various locations within the Town. Some that could only be caught at night, some only with crab pots, and then a section about fish who were hidden in the valley. The little incantation like description was only two lines this time.

“We ask for the fish of the valley, that man catches for food

We ask for the fish that are rare, to prove your dedication”

I patted this Junimo on the head as well and made my way back to my farm. I planted the wild seeds and watered them, I would have to go get more Parsnip seeds tomorrow because I’d sold all of the Parsnips I’d grown. That was tomorrow though, for now I crawled into bed and played some Hearthstone for a while. I logged onto SCO and messaged Samsonite and Sebellus between my matches. We’d made a group chat so there was no need to jump between chats.

ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Not gonna play today?  
Jinxd (Faeyrn): Nah, just gonna do some cardstone. Kinda tired rn.  
SkaterG0d (Samsonite): Aww :< guess it’s just me and my wifey boy, let’s go seb!  
ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): I am not your wife and don’t call me that.  
Jinxd (Faeryn): You guys are silly XD Have fun with your scenarios!  
ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Will do, wanna do a raid next Saturday?  
Jinxd (Faeryn): Sure, we can do the new one in the Moongrove forest.  
SkaterG0d (Samsonite): We might be on super late tho, next week is a festival in most places.  
ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Oh yeah I forgot, Ferngill Republic national festival of all things.  
Jinxd (Faeryn): It is? Crap, okay maybe Friday instead? The town I live in seems super into that kind of stuff so I might be too tired after that.  
ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’m usually tired after the festivals too.

The 13th is a national festival, officially it’s the festival of Spring, but different towns celebrate it slightly differently. Back in the city we had a big barbecue that city hall would set up in the big park downtown. It was one of those things where you paid 10g to go and got all the food and soda you wanted, there was usually some kind of music or band playing, and sometimes a cheesy kids movie. There was also a small egg hunt for the little kids, the egg hunt was basically the only thing that everyone did for the festival no matter where they lived. I usually skipped it, and enjoyed my day off playing video games or reading in the peace and quiet of my apartment. However, I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to worm my way out of the festival here. I checked the little calendar on my phone; I’d probably be forced to go to every national event. This unfortunately included the flower dance festival; in the city it wasn’t too big of a deal. A local dance school would have its best pupils put on a performance at city hall and it would be free to watch, I had a habit of skipping everything so I never went. However, Pelican town was small enough that basically all the young adults would be asked to participate. If I’m lucky, the town will already have set couples and I can just watch and enjoy the free food.

I drifted off to sleep a little after midnight, tomorrow was Sunday and I was planning on spending the later half of the day fishing after running some errands including giving Lewis his birthday present, then I’d go mining on Monday, and on Tuesday I was going to spend the day clearing some more of my land.


	4. Blast from the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm back from a long and unplanned hiatus. My laptop broke and getting it fixed took way longer than I thought it would, couple that with midterms for my university and stuff, and it's been too long. Sorry about the delay :3
> 
> I always related to Leah's awful ex, and have a few of my own, so this kinda just popped into my head.

Monday 8th of Spring 3:15am

*Legend of Zelda : Great Fairy Fountain Theme* 

I fumbled in the darkness as my ringtone blared loudly, I brought the phone to my ear quickly. "Hello?" My voice was a audibly groggy and soft.

"Were you asleep? It's so early girly." A familiar voice grouched at me unpleasantly.

"What the fuck do you want Z." I growled out, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I felt myself tensing up at my ex's voice, Z was a bastard.

"Aww come on doll, don't be that way. I heard you moved, where did you go baby?" His voice took on that annoying false caring tone.

"Like fuck I'm telling you." I scoffed, "Why the fuck are you even calling me?"

"Listen, I know you're still mad about whatever..."

"You mean you cheating on me with my ex girlfriend?"

"Oh get the fuck over it, it was only once."

"Once a week for like 3 months more like."

"Whatever Jade, point is; I'm willing to take you back if you apologize and tell me where you are. I'll come find you and we can have a good fuck and forget you ever even thought about leaving my side, yeah?"

"What the fuck makes you think I'd ever take YOU back?" I snapped, my fist clenching painfully around my phone.

"Look, we both know I'm the best damn thing that's ever happened to you, you *can't* survive without me. You're too much of a wreck, you can't even remember to feed yourself half the fucking time."

"For your information, Z, I'm doing just fucking fine without you constantly trying to control me."

"Oh but you seemed to love it in bed, bitch. I still remember you begging me to tie you up."

"Whatever Z, I'm comfortable with my kinks. What I don't need is some cheating sleaze constantly telling me how worthless I am and what a fuck up I am."

"Listen here you cunt.."

"Bye Z, don't fucking call me. Ever." 

"You bi-"

*click* 

I silenced my phone and put on do not disturb mode. I laid back down but couldn't fall asleep again. I groaned in frustration and dragged my laptop over to me, logging onto SCO. I had a message from the "Dope Guild" (The group chat with Sebellus and Samsonite).

-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Hey, there's gonna be a new quest line added in the next patch. You guys wanna try it?

Oh yeah, the next patch was dropping a quest line based on the original table top game scenarios.

-Jinxd (Faeryn): Sure, sounds good.

I heard a ding from SCO as I scrolled through youtube, I wasn't really expecting a reply given the time but Sebellus had said he was a bit of a night owl.

-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Cool, what r u doing up so late Fae?  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Some jerk decided to call me and wake me up, now I can't fall back asleep >.>  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Telemarketer?  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Worse >.<  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): The dreaded political campaigner?  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): I wish! Cheating ex, ugh.  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Oh damn, I'm sorry :/  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): It's alright, it's not your fault.

Sebellus switched to private messaging

-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Srsly tho, are you ok?  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): I mean, I guess? I dunno. I'm just aggravated that he thinks he can waltz back into my life like nothing ever happened.  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): He sounds like a douche  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): No but he totally is tho  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Bad exes suck  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Too fucking true  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): If you wanna talk about it, I'm here for you.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Thanks, that means a lot actually. You don't know jack shit about me and you're still a great friend.  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Yeah well, don't go spreading it around. I got an image to keep.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Sure thing tough guy XD  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Does it bother you that we don't know much about each other, despite gaming every night?  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): it's a little weird, but I get that people have their limits on privacy and stuff so I try not to pry.  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): That's actually surprisingly considerate of you.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Hey! Fuck you, I'm plenty considerate.  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Suuuuuuuuuuure  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Dick  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): What about my dick ;)  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): You mean your total lack thereof?  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): rude.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn); yeah yeah :p whatever, wanna play 20 questions?  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Sure? That's kinda random given what you said not 2 minutes ago.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Well obviously we'd have some rules to prevent that shit. Like, no last names or towns. No really specific details. And of course you can choose to not answer any question you want and you don't have to elaborate on anything you don't want to. Oh and the standard 'whatever question you ask you must also answer'  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Okay, that sounds fair. Who goes first?  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): You can if you want.  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Okay, is Faeryn your real name?  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): No, well it's my middle name.  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Really?  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Yeah, my mom has been obsessed with stories of faeries and magicks ever since she was a kid, an obsession that I ended up sharing. Faeryn means Faery child and it kinda just fits with the whole medieval fantasy of Solarian Chronicles ya know?  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): It's a pretty name.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Thanks ^.^ What about you? Is Sebellus your real name?  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Nah, it's like a variation of my name. I used one of those stupid "Your medieval name based on your real name" websites when I first started playing.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): Wow XD yeah I remember those were really popular when SCO first launched.  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): yeah <,< not my proudest moment. Okay, your turn.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): How do you and Samsonite know eachother?  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): We've been best friends since we were kids, we were like 10 when we met. Wait, but I already know how you met him,  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): True, umm well my best friend and I met like 7 years ago when we were about 14 or so.  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): So that makes you 21, right? I'm 23.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): You've known Samsonite for 13 years????  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): Unfortunately.  
-Jinxd (Faeryn): I'm so sorry  
-ObsidianVoid (Sebellus): send help.

And our game continued on, Sebellus and I had quite a lot in common, and it put me in a much better mood to talk about my hobbies and passions. We have a similar taste in music, games, and movies. We disagreed on the virtues of so bad they're good games (I like stupid games that can make me chuckle, Sebellus is a programmer and aspiring game maker who wanted to punch his screen at them), we read a lot of the same comics and introduced one another to quite a few that we'd never heard of. Sebellus wanted to make a video game but found himself at a loss about what. He had a half dozen ideas, all of them decent, but none of them felt quite right. He let me play a simple platformer he'd programmed a while back, mario style. The mechanics were really good and the textures and enemies felt solid, it was a good challenge, but it didn't feel unfair. His favorite book is HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy and mine is Ready Player One. My favorite game series is the Legend of Zelda and his is Final Fantasy. He's played the table top version of Solarian Chronicles and I haven't. It was around 5am when we decided we should try to get some sleep. I settled in for a quick nap dreading my 6am alarm already.

*Beep Beep Beep*

Fucking hell, I slapped the alarm into silence and got up lazily. I glanced at the screen, 2 more missed calls from Z and a handful of texts from him too. I ignored those in favor of the single message from Maya, it was a picture of her and her girlfriend Charlotte in front of the Monument of Founding in the Capital City of Ferngill. The statue depicted the twin brothers Castor and Pollux (no one knows if these are their real names or if they simply called themselves as such after the Greek myth), who founded the Ferngill republic standing on a small hill. Castor holding a map and a wand, Pollux lifting a sword to the sky. Charlotte and Maya stood at the base of the statue, Maya's bright pink hair standing in stark contrast to Charlotte's black hair. I texted a response about how cute they looked and got up to do my morning chores; water the crops, pick the grown ones, and clear away the debris that seemed to grow so rapidly. 

I finally got done around 10am and after a quick breakfast of wild forageables, I headed up to the mines to finally start on them. 

I was surprised and overjoyed to see an elevator I hadn't noticed before, and then immediately disappointed when I realized it didn't work. I screwed around with it for a bit, figured out that the elevator could only go down 5 floors at a time judging by the labeling on the buttons, and when I couldn't get it to work I descended down a ladder near the entrance. As I worked my way down the first few levels I silently thanked Marlon for the sword, getting swarmed by slimes is not fun. When I reached the 5th level I saw the elevator again and on impulse made my way over to it. I fiddled with the buttons and got the door open and noticed that there were roots jamming the shaft. I swung at them with my axe and got the elevator to travel down to my level. I hopped inside and tried to descend to various floors, but the elevator refused to go anywhere but the entrance and 5th floor. Of course, there's probably more junk in the shaft keeping it from descending. 

Hours later I was exhausted but I'd made it as far down as level 10, once I ripped out the roots clogging the shaft I called down the elevator and made my way out of the mines. Everything hurt, I could feel a slime burn in my side where one of the little fuckers had jumped on me, I had a nasty gash on my left arm where a rock crab had managed to get it's pincers on me, and I could feel the exhaustion in my arms from climbing ladders and swinging my pick axe to break stones. I walked past the lake to get home and was surprised to hear a voice call my name.

"Jade?" Sebastian was smoking over by the edge of the lake, I hadn't even noticed him as I'd tried to walk past leaning on my sword for support.

"Hey, umm what's up?" I tried to keep the groan of pain back as it threatened to tear out of my throat when I attempted to straighten up. 

"What's up? You're bleeding! What the hell happened?" He walked over cautiously, putting his cigarette out on the fence as he made his way over.

"Nothing, I just went down the mines." I couldn't really blame him for being shocked, I probably looked like hell. 

"The mines are dangerous, you shouldn't go down there. There are monsters and it'd be really easy for you to wind up dead." He chided, picking up my arm to inspect it.

"I know there are fucking monsters, I didn't give myself this stupid cut. I have a sword, I can take care of myself." I huffed, where did this fucker get off telling me what to do?

"I'm not saying you can't, it's just more dangerous than you probably realize. Your sword is a rusty old piece of crap and you clearly have no training." He started walking toward his house, pulling me along.

"Yeah well what the fuck do you know about the mines?" I snapped, pulling my arm out of his grip. I winced at the soreness the movement produced.

He turned and glared at me, rolling up his sleeve to show me an old scar, it wrapped from the inside of his elbow down to nearly his wrist. 

"I know, because I was a cocky fuck in high school who joined the adventurer's guild and almost lost an arm because I didn't know how to back down from a fight. I know, because I got down nearly a hundred floors in the mines before Joja Co blew out the back side of the mountain and fucked the elevators. I'm telling you, that sword, isn't going to last you long and if you're not careful you'll end up like most of the others who joined the adventurer's guild. Dead in the mines." He pulled down his sleeve. "Come on, I have a med kit in my room."

I followed him him into the house quietly, alternating between anger and understanding. Yes, he was clearly just worried about me getting hurt and that was very nice of him to care about the safety of someone who is basically a stranger, and having the experience he did it would make sense that he'd think that way. He was right, I only had an old rusty sword and no formal training. However, it still pissed me off that he was telling me what to do when he barely knew me. It pissed me off even more that I found it sexy, hadn't I learned my lesson with Z?

He applied a bandage the my arm and a burn salve to my side in silence before finally speaking again after nearly 10 minutes. 

"Why did you even want to go down into the mines?" It wasn't accusing or angered, just curious.

"Clint told me about all the ore that you can find down there, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying it from him. Especially since he said that he'd buy any excess I happen to find. He said it would be a good way to upgrade the second hand tools I have. Then I was talking to your mom and she mentioned how the mines were a good place to get stone for projects. So I figured I'd go down and take a look. Marlon gave me the sword for protection."

"Figures, he probably thought you'd stick to the top 2 or 3 floors. Judging by these wounds you must have gone a lot deeper."

"I got to level 10." I couldn't help the note of pride in my voice.

"You climbed 10 floors of ladders with these wounds?" He sounded incredulous. 

"Oh no, I got the elevators to work, turns out they just had some roots in the shaft. I cleared away the roots and was able to ride it up."

"Roots? That's all it was? I thought the shaft was just collapsed." 

"It might be further down, I only got to floor 10."

"Still, 10 floors in one day isn't bad. Though without any training and with that sword you should still probably stick to the top 5 floors."

I mulled that over for a moment as Sebastian put away his med kit. 

"Well, what if you trained me?"

"What?"

"You said it yourself, you're more experienced with the mines and you clearly know how to take care of yourself, you could train me right?"

"I don't know... Last time I tried to train someone it didn't exactly... go very well."

"What do you mean?"

"Look let's just get you home ok? I don't wanna talk about it."

"Okay." He walked beside me, he didn't offer to carry my bag or let me lean on him and I was grateful for it. After a few minutes I spoke up again.

"So, who trained you then Sebastian?"

"The guild did, when it was bigger."

"Could they train me?"

He shrugged, "Maybe, it depends on the members. After the mountain collapsed a lot of the members left for other places, Pelican Town's only real draw was the mines, our chapter of the guild simply fell apart after the collapsed 3 years ago. Though, now that it's opened who knows if members will want to come back. Marlon's too old and half blind, Gil hasn't left his chair in years, but if other members come, then they could teach you. If you can join."

"How do I join?"

"That's up to Marlon, usually he requests that recruits kill a certain number of monsters and bing him proof."

We made it to my door and Sebastian turned to leave.

"Hey, thanks Sebastian." 

"Yeah well, don't mention it." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Listen, I wish I could help you out, I hate the idea of anyone winding up dead in the mines. Not train you or anything but like if I still had my sword I'd give it to you once you learned how to swing one properly. So, I'll give you a tip instead, if you see any old backpacks or barrels or chest, check inside of them. The guild put em down at various floors with stuff inside for members traveling through the mines and to store lost weapons and stuff." 

"Thanks, that's actually really handy to know. Hey, wait, what happened to your sword?"

"I lost it somewhere around floor 90, it's a black Obsidian Blade. If you manage to get your hands on it you can keep it, but don't try to get down to floor 90 with that rusty piece of crap." He waved and set off back towards the mountains. 

I made it inside and passed out on the bed almost immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the idea of Sebastian having been a member of the guild at one point, I know some of his dialogue indicates that he's been in the mines (like the one where he got his hand hurt from a rock crab) but I think with his love of the Solarian Chronicles and fantasy stuff, it wouldn't be so far fetched to think that he would want to be an adventurer. Abby also makes mention of wanting to go to the mines so clearly it isn't a secret that the guild is there and that the mines have monsters.


End file.
